The deal to sell Aston Villa to a Chinese business has been rubber-stamped.

The new Villa chairman will be Dr Tony Jiantong Xia after a takeover by the Recon Group.

The club will now announce a new manager shortly.

Villa said in a statement: "Dr Xia played football as a striker until he finished at college and football has remained his passion. Dr Xia decided to buy an iconic football club in England as the cornerstone of his sports, leisure and tourism division.

"He became a fan of Aston Villa many years ago and is delighted at the opportunity to become the new owner.

"Dr Xia's immediate objective is to return Aston Villa to the Premier League and then to have the club finish in the top six, bringing European football back to Villa Park. He plans to make Aston Villa the most famous football club in China with a huge fan base."

It is thought the deal values the club at about £60 million – roughly the same as Randy Lerner paid for it in 2007.